HUCK
I had one text from Trinity last night, and I hadn’t been in the right state of mind to respond. She was going to be upset, and I knew it. But after yesterday, I’d needed distance to process things. Rage because I hadn’t been around enough to figure it out had snowballed into too fucking many emotions for me to handle. I couldn’t talk about it. So, I’d gone to Devil’s, where I knew I wouldn’t cross paths with anyone in the family, and found a dark corner, drinking until the pain was numb.
Opening the door to the house, I found comfort in the smell of Trinity’s cooking. I’d talk to her about it, but not right away. First, I needed to take her to my bed and forget it all. I’d woken up on Liam’s office couch this morning, wanting to see her face. Knowing it would make this easier.
When I stepped into the living room, Gage sat in my chair with a glass of whiskey. It was ten in the morning. He glared at me and poured the rest of the contents of his glass down his throat. Levi walked into the room, and when he saw me, he just shook his head. Was this because I’d called Gage drunk last night? I hadn’t wanted Trinity to hear me like that, but I’d known I had to let them know I was alive.
“Dude, where have you been?” Levi asked.
“Sleeping off last night,” I replied, walking past both of them on my way to the kitchen. Right now, I needed Trinity.
“She’s gone,” Gage called out behind me.
I froze. I’d heard his words, but they weren’t registering. What the fuck did that mean?
“Left an hour ago with Maddy,” Levi added.
Trinity was with Maddy. Had she left to come get me?
I turned back to them. “Where are they going? Did you tell her where I was at? I didn’t see them when I left.”
Gage was still looking at me like he wanted to plant his fist in my face. What the hell was wrong with him? This couldn’t be about his breakfast. Trinity had cooked. I could smell it.
“Afraid she wasn’t looking for you. She was leaving you.” Levi might as well have wrapped a rope around my throat and pulled it.
“What the fuck did you say?” I asked, thinking this was bullshit.
They thought this was funny. My head was not in a good place, and I didn’t need their fucking jokes. I needed Trinity.
“You didn’t come home. Didn’t call or text your woman. Were out drunk at a strip club. SHE FUCKING LEFT!” Gage stood up, his angry glare leveled on me. “What the hell were you thinking?”
This didn’t make sense. Why would she go to Maddy’s if she was leaving me? She was upset. If she was leaving me, she wouldn’t have gone to the ranch.
“She went to Maddy’s. That’s not leaving me. She’s hurt because she doesn’t understand. I’ll go fucking fix it.”
“Sure. Take your ass right on over there. I said she left you. She’s not there.”
My heart started pounding as hard as my fucking head.
“Where is she?” I asked through clenched teeth. “And how the fuck did she know I was at Devil’s last night?”
Gage glanced at Levi, then back at me. “She overheard us talking last night. We thought she was asleep downstairs.”
“FUCK!” I roared. “AND YOU DIDN’T THINK TO CALL ME?!”
Gage threw his arms in the air. “I fucking called you. Levi called you. YOU WEREN’T ANSWERING!”
I pulled out my phone and then went to the tracker I kept on her. It said Unavailable. I refreshed and tried again. Un-fucking-available.
Panic was starting to take over. I stared at it as I ran my hand through my hair, then pulled at my hair as I tried to figure out how to find her. Blaise. If Maddy had taken her, Blaise would know where.
“What the fuck was Blaise thinking?” I growled, then pressed his number.
“You done with whatever shit messed you up?” Blaise asked when he answered on the first ring.
“Where is she?” I clipped out.
“My wife likes Trinity. You’re the closest friend I have. You’re family. Which is why when Madeline asked me why you’d gotten drunk at the club last night and I didn’t have an answer, I let her go get Trinity. You want to tell me what the fuck you were doing?”
My hand clenched at my side. “I will. But it’s better to show you. Just please tell me where she is.”
“I spoke with Madeline. Trinity isn’t mad at you. That’s not why she left,” Blaise said.
“Then, why the fuck did she leave me?” I growled.
“She thinks you want out.”
“Why the fuck would she think that? I was gone one night. One goddamn night. Where is she at, Blaise?”
He sighed. “She was determined to go. Madeline took her to the only person she knew who could keep her safe if she wasn’t with us.”
“FUCK!” I shouted. “Please tell me they just went to Devil’s. She’s not headed to Miami.” I was already stalking back to the garage door.
“Devil’s. Liam’s apartment.”
I had just fucking been there. Slamming the door behind me, I didn’t say anything to Gage or Levi. They’d let her leave. Sure, it was Maddy who had taken her, but still. They could have said something to make her stay.
What was this shit about her thinking I wanted out? Had she missed the fact that I was fucking obsessed with her? How was that not clear?
As I reached the Escalade, the garage door opened up. I didn’t look back at whichever fucker it was. Neither of them had stopped her. Once I had her back here, where she belonged, then I’d listen to their reasons and possibly forgive them.
“I told her you were gonna lose your shit. That the night at the party hadn’t changed your mind. But it’s time you fucking admit it to yourself and tell her that you love her. If she had known that, she wouldn’t have left.” Gage’s voice stopped me.
I gripped the handle on the Escalade. Was that what this was? I loved her? How the fuck would he know what love was?
I jerked open the door and turned to look at him before I got inside. “How do you know I’m in love? You don’t know what fucking love is. What you had wasn’t love. It was obsession and it had been toxic as fuck.”
But was he right? I would kill anyone who stood in my way of getting her back. The idea of her leaving me felt like my chest was being ripped open. The only time I felt fucking settled was when she was with me. Her smile fixed any shit that was wrong.
“Maybe it was toxic but if you feel anything like I did then I know how it fucking owns you. Makes you weak. Hurts like a bitch,” Gage said before stepping back inside and closing the door.
Fuck me. I’d fallen in love with Trinity.
